How Did Michael Flynn Ever Get Hired as National Security Adviser?
Increasingly, the central question about Michael Flynn’s tenure as national security adviser is not how it ended so soon but how it ever began in the first place.
Earlier this week, Flynn—who was forced to resign February 13, just three weeks into his job—filed forms with the Justice Department saying he had done work from August to November “that could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey.” U.S. citizens who lobby for overseas governments are legally required to file paperwork under the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Flynn’s firm received $530,000 for the work.
On Thursday, White. On Friday, however, the Associated Press reported that the White House had confirmed that the Trump transition team knew before Inauguration Day that Flynn might be required to register as a foreign agent. In fact, on November 18, mere days after the 2016 election, Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote a letter to Vice President-Elect Mike Pence ties to the Turkish government.
